The present invention relates generally to the treatment of skin disorders and more particularly to the treatment of skin disorders using an extract from the leaves and roots of the plant Mullein.
Historically, the plant Mullein, genus Verbascum, has been used in a variety of different ways in the practice of herbal medicine. For example, the leaves of mullein have been smoked as a treatment of asthma. Leaf infusions have been taken for the treatment of coughs, catarrh, tuberculosis, hemoptysis, long standing diarrhea, dysentery, gout, rheumatism, and hemorrhoids. In the treatment of coughs and bowel disorders, the leaves have been boiled in milk for 10 minutes and seasoned or sweetened if desired. J. F. Morton, Folk Remedies of the Low Country, 155-156.
A leaf infusion has been applied externally to hemorrhoids, ulcers and tumors. An ointment for the treatment of wounds can be made by boiling mullein leaves with lard. A poultice including mullein with flax seed meal can be placed on burns, scalds and boils. Additionally, a poultice including an infusion of the leaves and pith of the stem in hot vinegar or water has been laid on the throat to treat cynanche tonsillaris, cynanche maligna and mumps. A poultice of fat and mullein leaves has been used to draw boils to a head. J. F. Morton, Folk Remedies of the Low Country, 155-156.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certain skin disorders are difficult to treat effectively. For example, actinic keratosis, a pre-malignant skin condition related to aging and to sun exposure, is generally treated with cryotherapy. In this process, an extremely cold liquid is applied to the keratosis, effectively freezing and killing the affected tissue. This process often leaves scars on the patient where the treatment occurs. Additionally, the actinic keratoses often return, thus requiring more cryotherapy and more potential scarring. If left untreated, actinic keratosis can become a form of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma.
Inflammatory conditions of the skin are often difficult to treat effectively as well. An example of an inflammatory skin condition that is difficult to treat is psoriasis. Treatments for psoriasis are often complex and uncomfortable to the patient. One treatment involves the application of a prescribed medication, such as a corticosteroid, to the skin and the subsequent covering of the skin with an occlusive dressing. As psoriasis is a chronic condition, the complicated treatment procedure must be repeated as the condition recurs.
Malignant melanoma is a form of skin cancer that is also difficult to treat. Early diagnosis is a key to patient survival of this disease. The lesions of malignant melanoma are typically removed surgically from the skin.
What is needed, then, is an effective treatment for these and similar disorders. Additionally, a treatment that does not involve difficult or damaging treatment procedures is also needed. Such methods of treatment is presently lacking in the prior art.